Walking Is So Pedestrian.

The Purpose:FUN! It's a silly thing, but it also has many components that are potential products, kits or educational pieces. I wish to share the work in this project to inspire, entertain and hopefully to help. The basic chair, motors and control system have the potential to be a very inexpensive alternative to expensive manufactured assistive devices. The electronics and mechanical components have many other uses and could have potential uses in robotics, hobby projects and even art and entertainment.

July 2015 Video Update Posted!

Above is the July 2015 update video for the Office Chairiot Mark II. Most of what's been happening over the past few months is software upgrades and circuit consolidation, leading up to putting the firmware and printed circuit boards up as Open Source. The big story for July, though, is the 3D-printed enclosure for the main board on the chassis. Find more at http://OfficeChairiot.com.

Featured on Fox 10 News Phoenix!

To quote Ty Brennan, the news guy: "That was the most fun I've had on a story!" Both Ty and his camerman got a chance to drive it. It was well-behaved and they had a great time. As usual, the people in the office at meltmedia were not fazed at all by the commotion and the sound of a chair drifting in circles.

Upcoming Events

Nothing on the calendar, yet!

Past Events

Southwest Maker Fest 2015

Saturday, March 28, 2015Noon to 8 PMDowntown Mesa, AZ

See the Office Chairiot Mark II LIVE and in person in downtown Mesa, AZ at the Southwest Maker Fest on March 28 from noon to 8 PM! Don't forget to visit the Office Chairiot friends and co-creation pals over at the Local Motors booth while you're there. They make stuff that goes faster.

April Council Connect: The Maker Movement - Moving. Fast.

The Arizona Technology Council has invited co-sponsors meltmedia and Local Motors to show off the Office Chairiot Mark II as an example of collaborative creativity, making and innovation. And, yes, it's a chance for the AZ Tech Council to do something a little nuttier than their typical lunchtime presentation.

The Latest...

The ultra-swanky control panel and the wireless remote control for the Office Chairiot Mark II both communicate motor control and lighting commands to the chassis via the Arduino UARTs (serial ports). It's easy to do this in code and the AVR microcontrollers at the core of the Arduino boards make it trivial to do. A couple of wires and BOOM. Serial's your uncle.

However, like anything electronic, or manmade for that matter, the real world doesn't work like the blueprints say it should. Once in a while a byte or two of important motor commands from the remote controlling unit get scrambled on their way to the chassis control system and it causes unintentional things to happen, like a sudden right turn into a guy seated at a table at a demonstration of the Office Chairiot, for instance. It happened. I'm not proud. It was funny. Nobody was hurt.

I'd like to avoid having to say, "Well, at least nobody was hurt." How to do???

Just when you thought it couldn't get any sillier... I'm working on mechanical designs for the latest incarnation of the Office Chairiot: The Mark III. Not a generally amazing story in and of itself, except for the fact that I don't normally spend time doing CAD for my projects and the CAD I'm using on this one is a special one.

I'd like to introduce you to Onshape! A professional-grade, fully cloud-based CAD system that's also collaborative, mobile-friendly (and usable!) and it even has version control. It's in beta, at the moment, but even still, it's quite amazing and VERY easy to learn and start using.

The Office Chairiot Mark II is now wirelessly controllable! The remote control enclosure, she ain't pretty, but she sure does her job simply and efficiently! Can't drive the "Paddy" Wagon attachment without a control device of some sort and this puppy is the perfect fit. AND, I was able to throw this thing together in a few hours. Not bad. Thank you, Xbee modules!

A chair that leaves other chairs in the dust.

Admit it. You've never gone over 20 MPH in your office chair. No one has. Until now. Meet the Office Chairiot Mk II. No one needed this chair. But here it is, and now your chair just seems a lot less awesome. It's not your fault. It's Andy's fault. And Andy don't care. The Office Chairiot Mk II eats other office chairs for breakfast and uses them for fuel the rest of the business day.

No, really. What is the Office Chairiot Mk II?

OK, here's the skinny on what it is: It's a motorized IKEA Poäng comfy chair. It uses off-the-shelf scooter parts to roll around like it owns the place: Batteries, motors, chains, sprockets, tires, axles, bearings, etc. Pour all those ingredients into a garage, add maker guy in there and out comes an Office Chairiot Mk II.

Sponsors

Featured on at Least TWO Sites, Maybe THREE!

(Of course, "featured" is a loose term.)

Quotes From Amazed Fans!

Nobody asked for a 20mph Office Chair, but that didn’t stop Andy from making one. And a damn fine one to boot.

— Chris Bianco, pizza guy

IT’S A ****ING ELECTRIC POÄNG!

— Ryan Gullotti, Poäng Aficionado

Badass. Simply, badass.

— Charleen, Dimension Engineering

Andy is seriously crazy, but he’s also seriously awesome.

— Dave Woodruff, meltmedia

Two motors isn’t fair. Why don’t I have weapons??

— Neighbor kid on go kart

People ask me why a man would have another man as a work wife. One answer always shuts them up: “Office Chairiot.”

— Ron Barry, work wife

There’s such a marriage here of creativity and innovation and joy in this insane office chair. My hope is that his work can inspire others to learn to weld, program, solder, design, upholster, manufacture, etc. and who knows what kinds of innovation he can bring to DIY/maker types needing or making wheel chairs.